


our future

by junyeonbug



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Abuse, Angst, Catboys & Catgirls, Hybrids, M/M, catboy!sicheng, foxboy!jaehyun, hansol the frog boyfriend, im sorry yutae shippers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-21
Updated: 2016-11-21
Packaged: 2018-09-01 08:00:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8616007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/junyeonbug/pseuds/junyeonbug
Summary: Sicheng has the ability to see the future in his sleep. His future shows him a hot, purple-haired, doe-eyed stranger.





	

**Author's Note:**

> i aint called junhuixsicheng for nuthin so heres finally a winwin fic!! :D this is based on a hyukbin fic i wrote 2 years ago on wattpad called 'feelings', it roughly has the same storyline, just a little longer and different characters :>

_ _

_"I'm sorry I hit you, are you okay?"_

_Sicheng rubbed the spot where the stone hit him and looked up at the stranger, confused._

_Purple dishevelled hair... thick eyebrows... large doe-like eyes... cute and defined nose... pink and plump lips... knife-like jawline... skinny arms and legs... Sicheng's eyes widened. A veiny hand stretched out to touch Sicheng's arm but the latter flinched away from the stranger's hand-_

Sicheng suddenly awoke from his sleep with a small gasp. He found himself breathing heavily, chest moving up and down rapidly, and he was sweating. Sicheng looked around by just craning his neck, trying not to move his body too much and further injure his ankle. After seeing no one was there, he sunk back into his place beneath the tree, wondering who that stranger was.

(=^･^=)

Taeyong grunted, holding his briefcase with one hand and rubbing his forehead with the other. His long day of work had been terrible and he wanted nothing but to fall asleep in his boyfriend's arms, with his hands caressing his fluffy purple hair.

"Yuta! I'm home!" Taeyong called the other male as he stepped in. His eyes widened when he saw his boyfriend pinned to the couch, underneath another boy whom Taeyong had never seen before. He flung his briefcase to the floor and ripped the mysterious boy off his boyfriend. Not before slapping his face.

"Who the hell do you think you are and what the fuck did you do to my boyfriend?" Taeyong growled, hands tightening into fists and eyes burning with rage.

"Listen- Taeyong, I-I can explain, I-" Taeyong shut Yuta up by slamming his fist into Yuta's cheek. Yuta fell to the floor and the mysterious boy rushed to his side, helping him stand up.

"Explain? What is there to explain? You obviously picked this fucker up at some club one night and have been cheating on me with him ever since, haven't you?" Taeyong shook his head in disappointment. Yuta opened his swollen lips to retaliate but nothing came out. He bowed his head in embarrasssment, sighing.

"I guess you're sick of me now, Nakamoto," Taeyong jabbed a finger into Yuta's forehead, "you can just go take your things and live in this frog-face's house for the rest of your life. We're over, mister, and don't bother coming back," Taeyong shot the frog-face one last look before storming out of his house.

Taeyong's feet took him to the park nearby, wishing he had went to the food cart to get some soju to distract him instead. He kicked stones around the empty park, seeing as it was close to midnight, no one but sickly disgusting couples would be out here at this time.

Couples... that word made Taeyong's blood start boiling again. Was he really not good enough for Yuta? Should he go back home and forgive Yuta and give him another chance? Taeyong still loved him, but maybe them breaking was what Yuta really wanted all the time. Maybe they weren't meant to be together. Taeyong kicked a stone especially hard and far, growling.

He was just thinking of turning back and heading home when a small "ow" was heard in a distance. Taeyong's ears twitched and he whipped his head around, trying to find anyone. Squinting his eyes, he could make out a small black blob sitting underneath a tree. He carefully walked up to the blob and when he squatted down, he realised that the blob was a boy.

"I'm sorry I hit you, are you okay?"

The boy's wide eyes turned to scan Taeyong's face from up to down, eyes widening in the process. Taeyong slowly reached out a hand to touch the boy's arm but he flinched, whining and clutching his ankle after doing so.

"Oh my God, did I do that? I'm sorry, I'll-" Taeyong brought his hands up to his own purple hair in desperation but the boy just shook his head, pained expression never leaving his face.

"Then what happened?" Taeyong asked and the boy breathed out, "I fell," before biting his lips in pain again.

"You want to come to my place for awhile? I'll make your ankle feel a little better," he suggested but the boy shivered, before shaking his head violently. "You'll beat me up," he whispered.

Taeyong laughed, shaking his head. "I promise I will never hurt you, you're so cute, how could I ever do so?" The boy froze for a second. " _Cute?_ "

"Yeah, cute. You're cute," the boy's cheeks reddened in the streetlamp light as he looked away from Taeyong, blinking furiously. He shook his head once more, and looked around for anyone. Once he confirmed that no one was in sight, he tugged down the hood of his hoodie. Two little furry brown ears came to life.

Taeyong's eyes widened, but the boy buried his face in his hands, muttering, "please don't hurt me," while trembling. Taeyong put a hand on the boy's head, feeling his fluffy ears. The boy cracked a smile at the action, tilting his head so he could feel more of Taeyong's hand.

"I swear on my life that I will never hurt you," Taeyong withdrew his hand, earning a small whine from the boy, "so would you mind if I brought you to my home so I could help your ankle?"

The boy smiled.

(^・ω・^ )

"What's your name?" Taeyong shifted the boy on his back as he walked, "I'm Taeyong. Lee Taeyong."

"Sicheng. Dong Sicheng," the boy answered. "Sicheng? You from China or something?" Taeyong questioned and the boy nodded.

"I was born there. Came here when I was five," Sicheng smiled as he leaned his cheek against Taeyong's warm back.

"How old are you? I'm 21, and I bet I'm way older than you, so you have to call me hyung," Taeyong laughed to himself.

"Just turned 19. A week ago," Sicheng giggled and Taeyong mumbled in response, "you look like you're 12."

The rest of the walk back to the house was silent, and Taeyong was pleased to find Yuta and his new frog boyfriend out of his house. Taeyong set Sicheng down on his bed and fetched the first aid kit.

"Why was hyung kicking stones? Was hyung angry?" Sicheng broke the silence with his innocent question. Taeyong nodded, explaining, "my boyfriend cheated on me with another guy."

Sicheng cocked his head to the side at the word boyfriend, but he didn't say anything about it. "Did you really get this broken ankle from falling? It looks terrible, Sicheng," Taeyong wrapped a bandage around the swollen ankle and Sicheng clenched his teeth.

"Bad guys... chasing me...  When I finally lost them, I tripped over a tree root and rolled down a hill. Hurt like hell, hyung," Sicheng panted, gripping onto Taeyong's wrist like his life depended on it.

"That was 5 days ago, that's why it's so bad," Sicheng breathed in relief when Taeyong was finally done. "No one helped you?"

Sicheng pouted and shook his head. "Everyone just walked past me and said I was a homeless beggar. Only hyung stopped and asked about me," Sicheng looked up and smiled at Taeyong.

"Now that you mentioned it, let's get you home. Where do you live, Sicheng?"

Sicheng paused and opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again and cocked his head to the side. "I don't have a home."

"Would you like to sleep here then?" Taeyong smiled at Sicheng's cuteness.

"Yes!" Sicheng's face instantly brightened up and he fell back on Taeyong's bed, burying himself in the covers. He gestured for Taeyong to lie beside him.

"Uh... I'll just sleep in the other room..." Taeyong was about to turn around when Sicheng's face of pure happiness converted to a huge pout, eyes dimming and falling to the floor.

Taeyong sighed, pulled back thee covers and joined Sicheng under it. The hybrid giggled happily, long brown tail escaping from his pants and curling around his and Taeyong's waist.

Taeyong turned around to face Sicheng, who was already sleeping soundly with his ears flat on his head and a small smile on his lips. Something clicked in Taeyong that made him feel that he had to protect this boy from that moment onwards.

(-, – )…zzzZZZ

Sicheng bounced around excitedly on the sofa, tail waggling around non-stop, waiting impatiently for the doorbell to ring and ignoring Taeyong's shouts at him to "sit your ass down on the damn couch, Sicheng."

Taeyong had told him one day that he had a friend who also had a hybrid that he was taking care of. Taeyong thought it would be a good idea to let the two of them play together as they were the same age, so that was why Sicheng couldn't seem to sit still.

"They're here!" Sicheng squealed once the sound of the doorbell filled the house. He bolted to the door before Taeyong could stop him with his now-better ankle and flung open the door, to see an orange-haired man with a boy under his arm.

"I'm Doyoung, and this is Jaehyun," the orange-haired man introduced. "I'm Sicheng! Jaehyun, let's go play!" Sicheng dragged the boy whose head was covered in a hoodie to the living room.

"They get along well," Taeyong smiled fatherly at the two hybrids rolling around the floor in a fit of giggles. "Yeah, they do," Doyoung sat on the table, in front of Taeyong.

"How did you even manage to get Sicheng to be yours and open up to you so quickly? With Jaehyun it was so hard," Doyoung scowled.

"Well firstly, I didn't buy Sicheng from a shop that only teaches the hybrids about dirty stuff, unlike you and Jaehyun," Taeyong stated and receive a smack on the shoulder. "I didn't buy Jaehyun to do dirty stuff with him! I was just lonely," Doyoung pouted.

"So since Sicheng's mind isn't tainted, he trusts people more easily and I guess since I was the first person to help him after so long, he just opened up quickly," Taeyong ignored Doyoung and finished his sentence.

"You lucky. It took me two goddamn months before I had the balls to confess to that dude," Doyoung stared at Jaehyun dreamily and got whacked on the head ("quit staring you creep"). After sitting quietly for awhile, Doyoung turned his head to look at Taeyong so quickly Taeyong was afraid he got whiplash, "you and Sicheng look good together too. You two should _totally_ go out," Doyoung nudged Taeyong's shoulder and smirked. Which earned him another thwack on the head.

"In your dreams," Taeyong rolled his eyes at Doyoung before switching his gaze to Sicheng who was watching Jaehyun in awe as he showed him how to play angry birds on his phone. Taeyong's gaze narrowed down to Sicheng's lips; he saw how they were slightly parted as he concentrated on Jaehyun's phone; how they spoke a single _"wow..."_ as Jaehyun cleared the stage; how they were pursed in determination as Jaehyun let him try; how they curved upwards when he succeeded as well; how they-

"Oh look... someone else is staring, isn't he?" Doyoung's words made Taeyong snap out of his trance and he threw himself forward at Doyoung before he stopped suddenly, clutching the fabric covering his chest.

"Shit, Taeyong, I told you to get it checked!" Doyoung's eyes widened wider that it already was and he bolted to the kitchen and came back with pills and a glass of water a second later.

"I'm... fine," Taeyong croaked as he swallowed the pills and collapsed on the chair. Jaehyun and Sicheng were too concentrated on their game to notice.

"Dude, you're everything but fine! Seriously, listen to me and get it checked soon, before..." Doyoung paused and rested his hand on Taeyong's, "before it's too late."

(゜◇゜ ))

"Come back soon Jaehyun!" Sicheng bounced up and down as he waved to his new friend. "We will, Sicheng don't worry," Doyoung replied the catboy before turning to Jaehyun. "Did you have fun?"

Jaehyun nodded, eyes crinkling into crescents and fox ears pointing straight up. "Good boy," Doyoung leaned down and pecked Jaehyun's lips and waved to the two of them, then exiting the house.

"Hyung?" Sicheng cocked his head to the side like he always did when he was confused, "why did Doyoung hyung kiss Jaehyun? Aren't they both boys? And hyung said that he had a boyfriend too. I thought hyung is supposed to have a girlfriend?"

Taeyong stroked Sicheng's ears as he explained, "boys can have boyfriends too. As long as there's love, anything is possible."

"Love? What's that?"

Taeyong mentally slapped himself. "Love is when you want to hug, kiss, spend the rest of your life with, and protect the other person. You celebrate with them when they're happy and wipe their tears when their sad. Like how Doyoung and Jaehyun feel with each other."

"Ah..." Sicheng nodded, "so does hyung love Sicheng?"

Taeyong mentally slapped himself harder. "It's late now, let's go to bed?" Sicheng pouted at his unanswered question, before dragging his feet to Taeyong's bedroom. Taeyong sighed.

_"Yes, Sicheng, hyung loves you."_

(´,,•ω•,,)♡

Taeyong's eyebrows furrowed in concentration as he tried to decipher the doctor's terrible handwriting on his prescription.

"How is it?" Taeyong asked, and the doctor simply shook his head.

"It's... it's growing. Rapidly. We can't do anything about it already, Taeyong-ssi," the doctor looked up from the prescription, "you've three months left."

"Thr-three months?!" Taeyong shouted, shooting out of his seat. The doctor nodded solemnly.

"If only you had come a few weeks earlier to get it checked again, we could've did some surgery to remove the tumour. But... it's grown so big that it's touching the heart and it's dangerous if we still try to remove it," the doctor pushed a bottle of painkillers to Taeyong, "take them when the pain's unbearable. No more than 10 a day, Taeyong-ssi."

Taeyong sat back in his seat, tears welling up in his eyes. He had adopted Sicheng not long ago, and he was going to lose him soon? Why didn't he listen to all of Doyoung's nagging and seen the doctor a few weeks earlier?

"I... understand... thank you doctor," Taeyong took the bottle and stood up to leave, but the doctor calling his name made him turn around and face him again.

"Spend the rest of your time with the people you love. Tell them how much you love them, and if you have someone in mind, confess to them. You don't have much time left, Taeyong-ssi, so every second counts."

(ノ﹏ヽ)

Sicheng sat on Taeyong's bed and pulled out a picture from his pocket.

"What's that?"

Taeyong's voice startled Sicheng as he walked into the room, sitting beside Sicheng.

"My... family," Sicheng dropped the dirty and crumpled photo into Taeyong's hands, "it's the last thing I have of them."

Taeyong studied the photo. He could make out a man, possibly Sicheng's father. A woman with ears identical to Sicheng's was beside him, followed by a teenager with grey ears and a small Sicheng on his father's lap.

"Appa... he was the best person on earth," Sicheng whispered, taking back the photo and stuffing it in his pocket, "but then one day he just left. He just took all his stuff with him one night and never came back again. Umma was so scared because appa was the breadwinner of our family. Umma couldn't go out and work too because she was a catgirl and people would judge her for wearing a hoodie to work."

"But still, umma tried. She managed to find a job and it was all well until one year into the job my noona got a call from the hospital," Sicheng shivered, sliding further into the sheets.

"Umma... she was abused by her boss. The boss had found out about her being a catgirl and beat her up so bad. Umma had all her vital organs injured by that man. And of course... she died soon after," a tear slipped down Sicheng's cheek and he hurriedly swiped it away.

"It was just left the two of us, noona and I. We took umma's money and tried to live off it, but it was too little. We then lost our house and had to survive on one meal a day. I thought it was okay, we still had a little bit of food to eat, and I had noona."

"But then one night, noona and I were going to sleep in an alley and three big guys came to us. They snatched noona away from me and they promised to come back for me. But I ran and ran far far away so they couldn't get me. I thought I was safe, I still had some food left so I survived a few weeks by myself. I missed noona so much I cried myself to sleep everynight," Sicheng was trembling, and Taeyong quickly rested Sicheng in his lap, stroking his ears.

"Then... one night the bad guys found me again. I ran away again, and just when I lost them, I tripped and broke my ankle. So I sat underneath the tree until hyung found me," Sicheng wrapped his four limbs and tail around Taeyong's torso, sobbing into the crook of his neck.

"I-I don't want to lose you too... hyung..." Sicheng grabbed a fistful of Taeyong's shirt and held on to it so tight Taeyong was afraid it would rip.

"Hyung's not going anywhere, Sicheng-ah, don't cry," Taeyong wiped away Sicheng's tears with his thumbs, until the catboy stopped crying.

"What if the bad guys take hyung away too?" Sicheng mumbled, looking at Taeyong with his tear-filled wide eyes.

Taeyong smiled softly, taking Sicheng's hand and holding it in his, "hyung will scare those bad guys away, and protect you. Like your prince in shining armour, hyung will promise to protect you until the day you die, understand?"

Sicheng leaned down to wrap his arms around Taeyong again, whispering, "thank you, hyung."

_"If you have someone in mind, confess to them. You don't have much time left, Taeyong-ssi, so every second counts."_

The doctor's words rung in his head. He looked down at Sicheng, his one hand still in Taeyong's grasp and the other drawing shapes on his back, and realised Doyoung was right. Taeyong loved Sicheng. And if Taeyong was right, Sicheng loved him too.

"Sicheng," Taeyong broke the silence. The smaller boy lifted his head, head cocked to the side, and stared at Taeyong with wide, curious eyes. Taeyong found himself mentally squealing at the action.

"Sicheng, hyung-" Taeyong begun, but was cut off with the sudden pain in his chest, making his eyes go wide in fear.

"Si-Sicheng..." Taeyong panted, face going pale, "h-hyung has to g-go to the b-bathroom," Taeyong pushed Sicheng off him and stumbled to the bathroom, sinking to his knees. He opened the cupboard below the sink and took two pills, swallowing them dry at once.

He leaned againat the cupboard, silent tears trailing down his cheek and dropping onto the bathroom rug. "Hyung!" Taeyong heard knocking on the bathroom door, "are you alright?"

"Hyung's fine, go to sleep Sicheng," Taeyong croaked out in the most normal-souding voice he could make. After he heard footsteps shuffling away from the door, he brought his knees to his chest, hugging them, and cried as softly as he could.

"I'm sorry, Sicheng... hyung will break his promise..." Taeyong sobbed to himself, still clutching the fabric covering his heart to stop it from hurting, "hyung loves you, and hyung is sorry, Sicheng-ah."

｡ﾟヽ(ﾟ´Д｀)ﾉﾟ｡

_"Oh! Isn't it the little boy from last time?"_

_Sicheng's eyes widened at the voice. It was them... and they had found him. Sicheng was just about to take off on his heels but one of the three caught him by his hood, yanking it back, also exposing his furry ears._

_The same man, which Sicheng assumed was the leader, laughed, and Sicheng knew he was in trouble. "It really is him. Come on boys, take him," he ordered and the other two took his two arms and grasped it tightly, forcing Sicheng to follow them._

_"Hyu-" Sicheng hollered but his mouth was immediately slapped shut tight._

_"Shut up!" the man grasping his right arm bellowed. Sicheng shrunk in fear._

_"Now that we are done with your noona, it's your turn, little catboy," the leader smiled evily, cupping Sicheng's cheek in his hands, "now you can't escape anywere, can you, small one?"_

_Sicheng shivered, lowering his head and shaking off the man's hand on him. "You don't like it gentle, do you? Well, I guess I have to go rough on you then," the leader cackled and raised a fist to pound down on Sicheng, Sicheng closed his eyes and waited for the blow-_

"Sicheng-ah!"

Called boy shot up from Taeyong's bed, drenched in sweat and shivering uncontrollably. He glanced at his surroundings- no fist aiming towards him, no three guys, and Taeyong was looking worriedly at him.

"Sicheng you okay?" Taeyong gently wiped Sicheng's sweaty forehead and fixed his brown hair. The catboy absent-mindedly nodded, continuing to tremble.

"I need to get something from the convenience store, and since it's late and I can't leave you alone at home at this hour, you have to come with me," Taeyong shrugged on a jacket and tossed one to Sicheng.

"N-no... we c-can't, hyung, no..." Sicheng's voice trembled as much as his body did, continuously shaking his head and sinking back into the sheets.

"Why can't we?" Taeyong frowed.

"It's-I... it's dangerous... something's going to happen hyung, I know it, so we can't."

"Nonsense," Taeyong smiled warmly as he helped Sicheng to wear his jacket, "hyung'll protect you, remember? If you come along with me, hyung will get you ice cream."

Sicheng's trembling instantly halted at the mention of ice cream. His face brightened up and grinned happily at Taeyong, pulling him out of the house, "let's go get ice cream, hyung."

The harsh cold air greeted them as they stepped out of Taeyong's apartment. Sicheng shivered and inched closer to Taeyong, in which the older draped an arm around him protectively as they walked.

"Sicheng-ah, your shoelaces are loose," Taeyong pointed at the two untied white strings, "tie them up, hyung's going in first," Taeyong patted Sicheng's back and walked into the warmth of the 24-hour convenience store.

Sicheng knelt down to begin tying the laces, just as he heard a voice that made his two cat ears stand up straight.

"Oh! Isn't it the little boy from last time?"

Sicheng abandoned the laces and made his way into the store, but just like how his dream went, his hood ended up being yanked down.

Everything after that was a blur to Sicheng, literally, who had tears in his eyes and was too petrified to speak a word.

"You don't like it gentle, do you? Well, I guess I have to go rough on you then," the man gruntled as he raised his fist at Sicheng. The boy squeezed his eyes shut, he was going to get beaten up badly, maybe worse, and Taeyong's going to get mad at him and maybe disown him-

The fist never came.

Instead Sicheng heard disturbing groans coming from where the men used to be and dared not open his eyes. Only when the groaning died down, he cracked his eyes open, to see Taeyong standing there, with the three men on the floor, wincing in pain.

"How-" Sicheng opened his mouth to say something more but nothing came out.

Taeyong smiled, unscathed. "I used to learn Taekwondo. I promised to protect you, didn't I?"

Sicheng returned the smile.

They stood there smiling at each other like two lovesick puppies until Sicheng walked foreword and hit Taeyong's arm, "I told hyung we shouldn't have gone out."

"How did I know this would happen?" Taeyong ruffled Sicheng's ears, "are you some fortune-teller or something?"

Sicheng averted his gaze from Taeyong to the three men trying to scamper away, "uhh..."

"But it doesn't matter," Taeyong pulled Sicheng closer to himself, "hyung will protect Sicheng no matter what, and will never allow Sicheng to get hurt."

Sicheng's wide eyes blinked, focusing more on the position him and Taeyong were in- Taeyong's arms around Sicheng's waist and Sicheng's hands gripping Taeyong's upper arms - rather than what he had just said. "Wha-"

"Shh, don't say anything," Taeyong pressed a finger to Sicheng's lips. He took a deep breath and removed his finger, leaning in, Sicheng too shocked to say anything-

"LEE TAEYONG," his name echoed through the dark and empty streets. Taeyong hastily pushed Sicheng away from him, and that's when his chest began to tighten, vision blurring.

"Listen the fuck up Lee Taeyong," Doyoung, said sassily, a half-asleep bedhead Jaehyun trailing behind him, "you call me at 1 fucking am in the morning, waking Jaehyun and I from our precious sleep, to tell me that Sicheng is lost, and when we finally find you two, you start kissing the poor boy? How fucking far has your relationship escala- Taeyong?" Doyoung furrowed his eyebrows, a hand reaching out to touch Taeyong's shoulder, but the latter groaned and collapsed to the floor.

"dUDE," Doyoung hollered and swooped to pick Taeyong up, "Jaehyun, get Sicheng back to our house, now!" Doyoung ordered and the foxboy wasted no time in grabbing Sicheng's wrist and dragging him back to their house, ignoring Sicheng's cries of "is hyung okay?".

"Taeyong, goddamnit, Taeyong wake up," Doyoung gritted through his teeth as he ran to the hostpital, wondering what on earth Taeyong ate to make him so heavy despite his skinny limbs.

Reaching there in less than ten minutes, Doyoung let out a gasp as he finally dumped Taeyong's sleeping body on a row of empty chairs. "You owe me a fucking lifetime..." Doyoung stood up and ran again to call for a doctor.

"It's happening more often now," Doyoung informed the doctor as he set Taeyong on a drip, "Taeyong tells me, at least once a day. It didn't use to be this bad."

The doctor sighs. "Once Taeyong wakes up, call me, I have to ask him questions."

Taeyong stirred in his sleep, before opening his eyes slightly, puzzled by the fact that he was in a terribly white room that smelt of disinfectant and that his best friend was drooling on his bed, bright orange hair sticking out in all directions.

Doyoung woke up at the ruffling of Taeyong's blankets, and flicked his forehead before Taeyong could say a word. "Ow! Bitch what was that for?"

"For making me carry you all the way to the hospital, staying with you to make sure you're fine and leaving Jaehyun alone at home with Sicheng," Doyoung scowled, rubbing his sleep-deprived eyes. Taeyong stopped rubbing his forehead.

"Oh," he lowered his head, "sorry."

"It was the most I could do for you, idiot. What did you expect me to do, let you die in the streets? Hell no," Doyoung stood up, adjusted his hair and pinched Taeyong's nose playfully, "I'm gonna call the doctor. He wants to speak to you."

Taeyong fiddled with his fingers until the familiar face of his doctor walked up to his bed. "Feeling better, Taeyong-ssi?"

Taeyong nodded.

"According to your friend, your pain attacks have been becoming more frequent," the doctor took the clipboard from under his arm and flipped through, "Taeyong-ssi, do you have any love interests?"

Taeyong opened his mouth to say "no", but only silent air came out. He scratched his head in response.

"Confused?" the doctor smiled warmly and Taeyong hid his face in his hands, nodding. "Ah, that explains your frequent attacks."

"What?" his eyes whipped to the doctor and he laughed. "Well, since your tumour is already touching your heart, your heart aggravates it by beating faster. And that's when you look, think, or do stuff with that love interest of yours."

Taeyong paused to think. His frequent pain attacks were because of Sicheng? "And Taeyong-ssi," the doctor continued, "I'm afraid I calculated wrong. At the rate it's growing, you've a month left."

Taeyong felt like he was a deflated balloon. A MONTH?! "Is there really no way, doctor?"

"There is.... I mean, to delay it by a few weeks, but I don't think you'll like it very much," the doctor frowned deeply, meeting Taeyong's eyes, "stay away from your love interest."

(｡•́︿•̀｡)

"Doyoung, I know I'm going to die in a month or so, but that doesn't mean you have to cling on to me 24/7 from now on."

"BUT TAEYONG," Doyoung wailed, "YOU'RE MY BEST FRIEND! I DON'T WANNA LOSE YOU!" The orange-haired male tightened his grip on Taeyong's waist, sobbing harder. The sight of that made tears well up in Taeyong's eyes.

"Shh, talk quieter, it's 4am and I don't want the neighbours slamming their doors and windows at us," Taeyong stroked Doyoung's hair as he cried into Taeyong's arm. Doyoung just cried harder at that.

"Have you told Sicheng?" Doyoung sniffed, rubbing his snotty nose all over Taeyong's sleeve. The latter would've slapped Doyoung off him by now, but seeing the condition of his friend, Taeyong let it slide.

"I can't tell him. I don't want Sicheng counting down the days to my death and crying like you, everyday," Taeyong hugged Doyoung awkwardly as they walked back to Doyoung's house.

"Wow, so I can be like this and Sicheng can't. What happened to bros over boys, man," Doyoung rolled his eyes and Taeyong laughed. His best friend had returned.

They walk in to Jaehyun comforting a crying Sicheng. Taeyong's eyes widened as he ran over to slide by Sicheng's side, the catboy immediately climbing into his lap and snuggling into his chest, sobs settling into snores.

"Sicheng suddenly woke up and told me he had a nightmare about Taeyong hyung going to die, so that's why he's like that," Jaehyun frowned while Doyoung and Taeyong looked everywhere except at him.

"Don't be silly, Taeyong's fine, right?" Doyoung nudged Taeyong secretly and the purple-head nodded. Jaehyun raised an eyebrow at his response, but didn't say anything.

"Can I stay here until Sicheng wakes up? He might look skinny, but he weighs a bomb," Taeyong groaned and shifted the catboy on his lap.

"Sure. Like you," Doyoung snickered, which earned him a middle finger and a tongue stuck out at him.

(ⅈ▱ⅈ)

One month became three weeks.

Three weeks became two weeks.

Two became one.

Sicheng was confused why Doyoung and Jaehyun came over almost every other day when Taeyong returned from work.

Sicheng was confused why Taeyong was distancing himself from him, and why Taeyong refused to share a bed anymore.

Sicheng was confused why Taeyong had those mysterious white circular pills lying all over the house.

Sicheng was confused why Taeyong never appeared in his dreams anymore.

"Hyung, do you hate me?"

It was one of those rare moments when Sicheng and Taeyong sat on opposite ends of Taeyong's bed, doing their own stuff.

"Hate you? Sicheng, we went over this. I could never hate you," Taeyong spoke truthfully, concentrating on what Sicheng presumed to be his project.

They continued sitting there in silence, something Sicheng was not used to.

"Hyung, are you going to die?"

Taeyong's pen froze in midair.

"Ya, d-don't talk nonsense..." Taeyong laughed nervously.

"You can't die, hyung, you promised," Sicheng's voice sounded shaky, and it took Taeyong all his energy not to inch closer to him and engulf him in his arms, because he knew fully well what would happen if he did.

"Yes, Sicheng-ah, I promised," Taeyong felt a pang of guilt in his heart. "Promises cannot be broken, hyung, but why do I feel that this promise is going to break anytime?"

_Does this kid have a sixth sense of something?_  "Go and read your book, Sicheng."

"Don't die, hyung," Taeyong felt a pair of skinny arms circle his waist and a damp face pressed against his back, "without hyung I have no one to protect me, and all the bad guys will hurt me again," Taeyong heard muffled sobs.

_"Like your prince in shining armour, hyung will promise to protect you until the day you die, understand?"_

Taeyong sighed, holding his tears in. "Go and read your book, Sicheng."

( ͒˃̩̩⌂˂̩̩ ͒)

_"Call the ambulance! Taeyong, can you hear me? Taeyong!"_

_It was Doyoung's voice._

_"TELL THE FUCKING AMBULANCE TO BREAK THE SPEED LIMIT AND GET HERE RIGHT FUCKING NOW!" Doyoung screamed at his and Taeyong's colleagues who frantically did as he said._

_Loud sirens broke the still air. The carpark of the office was bathed in an ugly, angry shade of red. Doyoung was in tears. Taeyong lay on the stretcher, pale as a sheet of paper. The ambulance whirred off, with a doctor, a hysterical Doyoung and an unconscious Taeyong in it._

_Doyoung looked at the doctor with wide, teary eyes as he calmly checked Taeyong up._

_"CAN YOU HURRY THE FUCK UP, MY BEST FRIEND IS GOING TO DIE," Doyoung bawled, burying his face in his hands, "Taeyong? You're going to make it, hang in there, Taeyong... please..."_

_As if on cue, Taeyong's eyes opened the slightest bit, and if not for the sparkle in his eyes, Doyoung would have missed it._

_"D-Doyoung..." it didn't sound like the orange-haired male's name at all, but Doyoung could tell from the way Taeyong's cold hand wrapped around his that he was calling him._

_"Taeyong!" Doyoung wailed and cupped his face in one hand, the other gripping Taeyong's hand tightly._

_"Th-thank you, Doyoung," Taeyong's lips curved upwards into the smallest smile, "thank J-Jaehyun too... and Yuta and his fr-frog boyfriend, e-even though I h-hate them..." Taeyong took a deep breath, and Doyoung saw a pearl of water slide down from his eye to the stretcher._

_"T-tell Sicheng... th-that I l-love him... and that I-I'm sorry... Doyoung..." Taeyong was breathless by the time he finished mumbling the sentence._

_Doyoung nodded helplessly, wiping away his and Taeyong's tears. Taeyong's lips curved up again, and his eyes closed. "NO! TAEYONG DON'T CLOSE YOUR EYES! KEEP THEM OPEN, JERK, OPEN YOUR EYES!"_

_But it was too late._

_The sound of the monotone heartbeat machine filled the ambulance, and Taeyong's once cold hand turned deathly pale._

_"T-Taeyong..." Doyoung froze, watching his best friend slip away from the world that they were in, "TAEYONG!"_

_"28th November 2016, 1045 hours," the doctor recited as if he were a robot, "patient Lee Taeyong pronounced dead."_

Sicheng sprung out of his bed, the one in the room beside Taeyong's. He ran to the living room and saw Taeyong getting ready for work.

"HYUNG!" Sicheng hugged the purple-head man, burying his face into Taeyong's hair.

"What's wrong, Sicheng-ah?" Taeyong stroked Sicheng's ears, and saw that his tail was standing straight up. Something was definitely wrong.

"Hyung..." Sicheng released himself from the hug, "don't go to work today, please hyung, listen to me this time. Go to the hospital instead, something's going to happen, hyung, I'm serious," Sicheng wailed.

"Hyung has an important meeting today Sicheng-ah..." Taeyong wiped away Sicheng's tears and put on his blazer, picking up his briefcase.

"NO!" Sicheng shrieked, dragging Taeyong back in, "if hyung listens to me, we can change the future, and-"

"Dong Sicheng let go of me!" Taeyong flung Sicheng's arm off him and yelled, "what's all this bullshit about the future? You're a catboy, not a fucking fortune-teller! Don't stop me from going to my job! Now stop this crap, I can't be late for my meeting," Taeyong grumbled and stormed out of the house.

Sicheng sat on the floor, crying his lungs out. "Hyung... please listen to me... I don't want my dreams to come true..."

Taeyong marched to the train station, where he met up with Doyoung to go to work together. "Why the long face?" Doyoung noticed once he spotted Taeyong; Jaehyun happily skipping behind them.

"Why is Jaehyun here?" "He wanted to walk me today, I don't know, maybe he's in a good mood or something. Answer my question, twerp."

Taeyong ran a hand through his dyed hair, "I don't know what's wrong with Sicheng today, first he woke up and came running to me crying, then he began screaming at me not to go to work and go to the hospital instead because _'something's going to happen, hyung'_ ," Taeyong imitated Sicheng's voice.

"Then I got angry at him and told him how much this meeting mattered to my job. And he was saying something about changing the future, I don't know what's gotten into him."

Jaehyun froze. As a hybrid, he knew that very few, only very few, hybrids had the ability to forsee the future in their sleep. And now, Jaehyun realised, Sicheng was one of them.

Jaehyun ran.

ε=ε=ε=ε┏(●´Д｀●)┛

"Sicheng!" Jaehyun found the catboy still sitting on the floor, eyes swollen twice their size from the excessive crying.

"Jaehyun..." Sicheng sobbed into his friend's shoulder, "did hyung listen to me?"

Jaehyun bit his lip, shaking his head. "Sicheng, whatever happens in the future can't be changed, no matter how you try to change it," Sicheng stopped weeping and looked at Jaehyun with his head cocked to the side, "I know you can see the future. And the gods just gave you that ability to let you know what will happen to you, not so that you can mess about with the future and make everything go haywire."

Sicheng blinked three times. "How did you know I can see the future?"

Jaehyun grinned, "I put some pieces of the puzzle together."

The catboy didn't grin back at his friend. "So... hyung's going to die?" His voice trembled and his eyes filled back up with tears.

Jaehyun pulled Sicheng into his arms.

"Yes, Sicheng, Taeyong hyung's going to die."

┻━┻ ︵ヽ(`Д´)ﾉ︵ ┻━┻

As expected, Taeyong didn't come back home that evening.

Jaehyun visited instead, and explained that Doyoung was going through a depressed phase where he needed to be alone in a room free of things to destroy. Sicheng thought it was a nicer way of saying "trying to get over the trauma of your best friend dying right under your nose".

"You wanna stay over at our place from now onwards? Doyoung hyung says Taeyong hyung's funeral will be soon and he'll be busy preparing for the stuff. Knowing him, he wouldn't allow me to set a finger on any of those things so I'll be alone at home most of the time," Jaehyun pouted and looked back at Sicheng, who was staring into empty space.

"Sicheng?"

"He'll come back, right?" Sicheng whispered to no one in particular, "Hyung will be home anytime now and cook delicious food for me, before sleeping next to me in the same bed, right?"

Jaehyun frowned. "Sicheng, stop being delusional, I don't want another Doyoung hyung."

"Hyung probably missed the train, that's why he's late..." Sicheng nodded to himself, before he was harshly brought back into the world by a tight slap. "Sicheng!"

"What?!" the catboy's voice rose, nothing like what Jaehyun had heard before, so he backed away. "Taeyong hyung is dead, accept that fact!"

"Hyung is not dead! He's just late!" Sicheng's blood boiled in anger, "if you want to continue cursing my hyung, get out of this house!"

"Sicheng, please..." Jaehyun begged, "thinking like that won't make you feel any better, so drop the act and continue living your life like how it was last time..."

"Continue living my life like how it was? So you want me to break my ankle again, go back to that tree and sit there until someone else finds me, and pretend that hyung never existed at all?!"

"No, Sicheng..." Jaehyun sobbed, tugging on Sicheng's sleeve, "just stop telling yourself that Taeyong hyung is still alive, it'll hurt you even more in the end, listen to me for once?"

Sicheng shook his head. "As you said, the future is unchangeable."

Jaehyun let go of Sicheng's sleeve. "What do you mean?"

"I took a nap in the afternoon, and all that appeared in my dream was a stationary, black, empty screen. And if I listen to you, the future would be messed up and everything would go haywire," Sicheng stood up and walked towards the front door, "I'll leave you to figure that out by yourself," then he walked out of the house, into darkness, but Jaehyun knew it was what Sicheng wanted: to be alone.

Or perhaps, more than that.

Sicheng roamed around in the empty streets. It was only about 8 at night, but the neighbourhood had already become deathly silent. He walked around somemore, trying to find what he was looking for.

Finally, he saw them at the train station. Sicheng pulled on his hood and made it seem like he wasn't trying to find them.

"Hey, I was just getting bored, and look who's here!"

Sicheng smiled grimly to himself.

"It's you again, isn't it?" Sicheng recognised the voice as the leader of the three, "now that you don't have your prince in shining armour to save you anymore, let's have some fun, shall we?"

Sicheng allowed himself to be dragged into a squeezy and gloomy alley. Once they were there, Sicheng opened his mouth to ask as innocently as he could, "are you taking me to my noona?"

The leader stopped polishing his blade and looked at Sicheng. "Yes, we are, and apparently that's where your prince charming is, too."

Sicheng's ears stood up in fake excitement. He knew fully well what they were going to do to him, but a little faking wouldn't hurt. "Then quickly! Let's go! I want to see my noona and hyung!"

The leader scowled, and tossed his cloth to a corner. "Corner him, boys," the leader ordered and Sicheng held back a smile.

_Goodbye, Doyoung hyung and Jaehyun._

As the three men carved out pretty shapes with knives on Sicheng's skin, littered his arms and legs with punches and kicked his stomach so much Sicheng was sure it protruded the other way out, Sicheng found himself smiling at the sight. All forms of pain had been mysteriously numbed and all Sicheng could think about was "hyung, I'm finally going to be with you again".

"I hope you have a good reunion with your noona and your boyfriend," the leader snickered as they left Sicheng laying lifelessly on the floor, literally in pieces. Sicheng's tail had been chopped off and one of his ears were dangling dangerously from his head, in addition to multiple stab wounds scattered all over his body.

"Jaehyun is right, the future is unchangeable," Sicheng attempted to laugh, but it sounded more like a dying whale. "The future wanted hyung and I to die, so I'm doing a favour for you, future, I'm following you instead of listening to that dickface Jung Jaehyun and screwing you up," more dying whale noises.

Sicheng felt a wave of dizziness wash over him, making him shut his eyes in attempt to stable his eyesight, but it only made him sleepier.

"Just tell hyung..." Sicheng lay flat on the hard gravel, "th-that I love him, too..."

Then as Sicheng took his last breath in the dark and cold streets of their neighbourhood, his vision blurred into a stationary, black, empty screen, and Sicheng knew that the future was right for him and Taeyong after all.


End file.
